Gears of War 4 Gets More Free DLC In December

The Coalition announces its Gears of War 4 DLC plans for the month of December including two new maps, improvements, bug fixes, and a new Christmas inspired event.

After launching early in October, The Coalition has kept itself very busy in continuing to update Gears of War 4 with new content, maps, and general fixes to improve the experience. Painpoints such as the slower than expected credit earning rate were quickly updated alongside new content like the November legacy maps and 10th Anniversary DLC. With December finally here, The Coalition has revealed its plans to further enhance the game through an update scheduled for later this month.

Arguably the biggest additions to Gears of War 4 this month are two new maps known as Speyer and Glory. Speyer is a town that had been evacuated long ago and as such, has remained relatively untouched by the Locust war. The map features large open areas, making long range fighting optimal. Glory, on the other hand, is a former COG battery featuring a big fortress that players can capture and gain access to a powerful mounted turret to use against their enemies.

The Coalition plans to add both maps into the public rotation starting on December 13, though season pass holders can check both of them out on the exclusive Developer playlist starting a week earlier on December 6. The rotating nature of these free DLC maps means that Gridlock and Relic will be temporarily put on the shelf for everyone except season pass holders, or players who have individually purchased them.

In addition to both maps, this update brings a number of improvements to the overall experience including a daily reward system, bonus credits and XP for season pass holders, and prematch lobbies for both Core and Competitive playlists. The team is also looking to further improve the online multiplayer experience by rolling out new tools to help discourage players from quitting matches early. Now may be as good a time as any to jump in, as Gears of War 4 is also 33% off starting today and ending December 28.

The team also teased a special “Gearsmas” event complete with Christmas inspired heads for characters similar to the previous Halloween event, new content to unlock, and a mode where players use a winter-themed version of a classic Gears of War weapon. More details on the special event are coming at a later date.

In the short term, however, players can help test a brand new crossplay feature between the Xbox One and PC simply by playing the online Versus multiplayer. If the test proves to be a success, The Coalition is open to enabling Versus cross play between the two platforms permanently, though nothing has been set in stone quite yet. Players will also be rewarded with extra XP for a match completion, to help entice as many players as possible.